The Man in the Glass Booth (1975)

Arthur Goldman is a rich Jewish industrialist, living in luxury in a Manhattan high-rise. He banters with his assistant Charlie, often shocking Charlie with his outrageousness and ... See full summary »

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writer:

Edward Anhalt (screenplay)

Stars:

Maximilian Schell, Lois Nettleton, Lawrence Pressman

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Maximilian Schell	...	Arthur Goldman
Lois Nettleton	...	Miriam Rosen
Lawrence Pressman	...	Charlie Cohn
Luther Adler	...	Presiding Judge
Lloyd Bochner	...	Dr. Churchill
Robert H. Harris	...	Dr. Weisburger
Henry Brown	...	Jack
Norbert Schiller	...	Dr. Schmidt
Berry Kroeger	...	Joachim Berger
Leonardo Cimino	...	Dr. Alvarez
Connie Sawyer	...	Mrs. Levi
Leonidas Ossetynski	...	Samuel Weisberg (as Leonidas Ossettynski)
David Nash	...	Rami
Martin Berman	...	Uri
Richard Rasof	...	Moshe

Storyline

Arthur Goldman is a rich Jewish industrialist, living in luxury in a Manhattan high-rise. He banters with his assistant Charlie, often shocking Charlie with his outrageousness and irreverence about aspects of Jewish life. Nonetheless, Charlie is astonished when, one day, Israeli secret agents burst in and arrest Goldman for being not a Jewish businessman but a Nazi war criminal. Whisked to Israel for trial, Goldman forces his accusers to face not only his presumed guilt--but their own.

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Plot Keywords:

jewish | trial | nazi | x rayed skeleton | courtroom | 

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Taglines:

The kidnapping . . . . The masquerade . . . The murder trial . . . . Perhaps the most suspenseful shocker of our time.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English German

Release Date:

27 January 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre de la cabina de cristal

Filming Locations:

20th Century Fox Studios - 10201 Pico Blvd., Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinévision Ltée, The American Film Theatre, The Ely Landau Organization Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

117 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The meaning and relevance of the "glass booth" of the film's title is that it is a bulletproof glass booth placed in a courtroom to prevent the possibility of an assassination of the film's main character, subject and hero, Jewish Arthur Goldman, Nazi concentration camp survivor, who is on trial for war crimes, and may or may not be former Nazi SS Colonel Adolf Dorff, perpetrator of World War II atrocities. In film history, more often booths and cages have been shown in court-rooms in movies where usually serial killers have been on trial.

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Goofs

The X-ray that the attorney holds up is supposedly the defendant's shoulder. In fact it shows a woman's pelvis, with an IUD in place.

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Connections

Referenced in Sneak Previews: Taxi Driver/The Man Who Would Be King/Hester Street/The Story of Adele H. (1976)

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Soundtracks

"Es war ein Edelweiss"
("It was an Edelweiss")
Written by Herms Niel
Sung by Charlie (Lawrence Pressman)

User Reviews

Much fuss and talk which comes down to nearly nothing

With utmost respect to other reviewers who seem to have enjoyed this film, I keep failing to get the point of the whole thing. Certainly, most actors are doing their best, especially the ones given fewer lines, but you have to avow that Maximilian Schell's performance, however sincere, is overdone and dated. Perhaps he was not the smartest choice for the title role. As to the main plot, if the filmmakers intent was to keep us misled throughout the movie till the very end, congratulations! you did it! I think it's ridiculously twisted and entangled altogether. It is nice to see some good production values of the seventies at their best, as well as some funny hair styles and well conceived props, but this doesn't make up for the lack of sense. I think it's a mistake to overwhelm the audiences with lots of information and tons of strong feelings, just to be unable to come to a well contrived conclusion. Good films need original ideas well developed and well solved. If you launch the great question you have to propose an answer based on sound consideration or, as it should be the case in a film, on a consistent outline for your story. Not a good contribution to understanding the crimes against mankind, and namely the Jewish people, during WWII.